This invention relates to surgical devices, and in particular to a device for use in cleansing the colon in the course of surgical procedures.
It has become usual practice when performing certain surgical operations, such as to remove a growth obstructing the bowel, to cleanse the colon upstream of the obstruction by irrigating it with a suitable washing liquid, for example saline solution, to remove residual faecal matter. A rigid draining or discharge tube is partially inserted into a lateral opening made in the bowel and is secured in place by ligatures applied around the bowel over the end portion of the tube inserted into the bowel. A length of flexible tubing is connected to the outer end of the tube for conducting the washing liquid and faeces to an appropriate receptacle. The cleansing can be carried out in a continuous manner, in which case cleansing solution is introduced into the bowel at a suitable upstream location, e.g. near the appendix and is allowed to stream through the intestine to the discharge tube. Alternatively, the cleansing may be performed in a batchwise sense by delivering a volume of cleansing solution into the bowel, causing it to swill around within the bowel and then allowing it to drain out through the discharge tube. For the purpose of introducing the washing solution it is known for the drain tube to be equipped with a lateral branch connector for attachment of a tube through which the liquid is poured into the bowel.
The known intra-operative colon irrigation systems are satisfactory, but they are not without limitations and drawbacks. It is difficult to secure the drain tube reliably within the bowel, and if it is not connected securely, it can become detached, with the result that the washing liquid, etc., may spill out of the bowel in an uncontrolled manner. In addition, as the drain tube substantially fills the inner cross-section of the bowel, it presents an open end of large area into which the bowel wall has a tendency to enter, causing trauma by intussusception of the bowel. While the cleansing is effective when the faeces within the bowel are fluid, it is not so efficacious when a solid faecal mass is present.